Plant-based milk alternatives for cappuccino & co.
What could be better than a cappuccino in the morning, with its fine-pored, creamy milk foam that lays over your palate like honey... #shortdream. We have good news for all of you who rely on plant-based milk alternatives: This moment can be yours, too! But which milk alternative is best for frothing? And how do oat milk & co. influence the taste of your coffee?
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But there's one important question up front: Why does milk actually foam?
Coffee brewing can be an extremely complex subject and extremely overengineered, but with a few simple tips and tricks from us, you can turn your bitter brown soup into an unforgettable taste experience.
We have created an overview of coffee preparation methods for you. You can find out for yourself which one is right for you and meets your coffee taste. But never forget that the quality of your coffee is crucial.
Each week, we'll take a closer look at the different preparation methods and show you how to get the most out of your bean. This property depends on two main factors: the fat content and the protein content. The higher these percentages are in the milk, the better it foams. The higher fat content serves as a flavor carrier. For our plant-based milk alternatives, this means that nut- and soy-based plant-based drinks have the best prerequisites for becoming latte art stars. However, there are tricks to making grain milk join the ranks of the stars & starlets. In special barista editions, a stabilizer or emulsifier is added to cereal milk. This can be vegetable oil, for example, which provides a more stable, long-lasting milk froth. Here you have to decide for yourself whether the quality of the milk foam is so important to you or whether you prefer to do without additives and get by without latte art. However, there are also great products on the market that can be foamed completely without additives.
How are plant-based milk alternatives actually made?
This property depends on two main factors: the fat content and the protein content. The higher these proportions are in the milk, the better it foams. The higher fat content serves as a flavor carrier. For our plant-based milk alternatives, this means that nut- and soy-based plant-based drinks have the best prerequisites for becoming latte art stars. However, there are tricks to making grain milk join the ranks of the stars & starlets. In special barista editions, a stabilizer or emulsifier is added to cereal milk. This can be vegetable oil, for example, which provides a more stable, long-lasting milk froth. Here you have to decide for yourself whether the quality of the milk foam is so important to you or whether you prefer to do without additives and get by without latte art. However, there are also great products on the market that can be foamed completely without additives.
3-2-1 Test: The most common milk alternatives in the barista comparison
Now it's time for the battle of soy versus oats, almond versus coconut, and rice versus the world: Which plant milk is the number one milk alternative? One thing we can tell you right away: milk froth is in the eye of the beholder. Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we will now present to you.
3-2-1 Test: The most common milk alternatives in the barista comparison
Now it's time for the battle of soy versus oats, almond versus coconut, and rice versus the world: Which plant milk is the number one milk alternative? One thing we can tell you right away: milk froth is in the eye of the beholder. Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we will now present to you.
Soy milk
Hard Facts: high fiber - high protein - less fat than cow's milk
Taste: Light cereal flavor, somewhat earthy and nutty undertone, mild sweetness.
Barista skills: Despite its high protein content, soy milk does not foam quite as well as cow's milk. However, its foam is relatively dense and also remains stable for a very long time. Compared to other plant milk alternatives, it is very suitable for latte drinks. Its flavor is gentle, albeit characteristic, and remains discreetly in the background when preparing cappuccino.
Oat milk
Hard Facts: Cereal milk - high in fiber - low in fat - low in nutrients - mostly gluten.
Taste: strong oat characteristic flavor, pleasant sweetness due to fermentation process - overlaying the characteristic flavor of coffee in light roasts.
Barista skills: Oat milk already foams very well by nature. For this reason, we also find numerous barista editions of oat milk, such as those from the Oatly or Minor Figures brands, which manage completely without emulsifiers and stabilizers. With a little practice, you can conjure up the finest oat milk hearts in your cappuccino.
Rice milk
Hard Facts: Cereal milk - naturally low in nutrients (calcium and vitamins are often added) - very low protein content.
Taste: very sweet due to the fermentation process in the production, after rice - surprise!
Barista skills: Unfortunately, rice milk is not at all suitable for foaming, as the protein and fat content is very low. The foam dissolves again immediately and splits into a watery and a foamy layer that does not really combine with the coffee. Therefore, rice milk is not really suitable for cappuccino, BUT: try rice milk cold in your Cold Brew or Iced Coffee. Here it conjures up a wonderfully exotic-fresh touch in your coffee drink, to which we can only say: Rice, rice, baby!
Almond milk
Hard Facts: Nut milk - alkaline - low protein - low in nutrients
Taste: nutty, creamy, hardly sweet, slight acidity and bitterness - great in combination with sweeter milk alternatives like rice milk.
Barista skills: Almond milk contains only a small percentage of almonds and also very little protein. This makes it not really a favorite for milk froth from scratch. Here, it's a good idea to turn to special barista editions if you want to drink your cappuccino or latte macchiato with almond milk. Otherwise, you can use almond milk very well cold, similar to coconut milk, as the icing on your Americano or in your Iced Coffee. However, a little caution is advised here: Almond milk tends to flocculate in combination with acidic coffee.
Coconut milk
Hard Facts: low to medium fat content depending on variety - contains calcium
Taste: pleasant light sweetness, fine coconut flavor
Barista skills: Similar to almond milk, coconut milk in its pure form is not really suitable for foaming. It produces a fine-pored foam that quickly dissolves again. In terms of taste, coconut milk in cappuccino is debatable, since its own flavor naturally overpowers the coffee flavor a bit, but less than one might expect. For those who like it, coconut milk in coffee adds a touch of the Caribbean and a pleasant freshness. Coconut milk is also really ingenious in combination with cold coffee: Put ice cubes in your glass, fill up to 2/3 with cold brew coffee and then slowly pour 4cl coconut drink over it - visually and taste-wise a real highlight! The next summer will come for sure.
What do I need to watch out for when frothing my plant-based milk alternatives?
A little sensitivity is required here. Each plant-based milk alternative requires a slightly different foaming process, and there are also major brand-related differences within a milk alternative. However, the basic rules of milk foaming apply to all milk alternatives:
- Use cold milk for frothing if possible. The colder the milk, the longer it has time to roll. Roll? Just read our blog article on the topic of milk foaming!
- Heat milk to about 60°-70° degrees. The easiest way to control this is to leave your second hand on the jug when foaming milk and turn off the steam lance as soon as the jug becomes uncomfortably warm.
- Always keep moving: this principle applies not only to everyday life - you know our motto #livinglifeoutdoors - but also to your milk preparation. Froth up milk alternative and pour it directly over the espresso - if your milk stands for too long, the milk foam and liquid will separate from each other, making it very difficult to pour in barista style.
- Enjoy! 😊
Practice makes perfect. If it doesn't quite work out the first 99 times - it doesn't matter, the 123rd time you'll be jubilant about your perfect milk foam. With milk alternatives, simply vary the time of the individual phases (pulling and rolling) a little and feel your way to the optimum result.As a basis for a cappuccino, we recommend our Go Nuts Blend, for example.
For any form of latte art, of course, we need coffee as a base. The best coffee for this is espresso from a portafilter coffee machine. If you don't have a portafilter at home, we recommend preparing the coffee with an espresso maker. You can find out how best to do this in this article, or watch it in our video about the stovetop pot:
For any form of latte art, of course, we need coffee as a base. The best coffee for this is espresso from a portafilter coffee machine. If you don't have a portafilter at home, we recommend preparing the coffee with an espresso maker. You can find out how best to do this in this article, or watch it in our video about the stovetop pot: